Review: Gurka Le Rouge by Leben Models Miniatures

Hello Guys.

Today a little packet of Leben Model Miniature is leaning on my desk.
It comes in an elegant rigid box, in gray and black colour.

We're going to open it.
Here there are just two good cards, with the printings of two pieces produced by the company, masterfully painted by Benoit Menard.

On the back of the Troll des Caverns cardboard, we find a small sentence of thanks handwritten (simple but always apreciated), while on one of the pirate we find the batch number of the cast in limited edition of 200 pcs.

So, as you'll see the model is the pirate orc Gurka le Rouge, sculpted by Allan Carrasco, and that reminds us a bit his previous work Einstein, sold by Figone.
The boxart is one of the most interesting works of 2013, remembering also that it won the Best of Show in Painting Crusade X 2013.

Just to give some information, which you can find at the site
The bust is made in resin, it's divided in 5 pieces, and once mounted it's 105cm high( hat included).
SO HUGE!!!!

Inside the box, there are 3 bags in polybag,
one with the hat
one with the face, with the brooch and pendant
and the last with the bust.

The hat, a tricorne hat, got in the front the recognizable symbol of the skull orc, and a cute crab at the right side.
It has some fine mold lines, near the upper edge, but easily removed with a cutter.
Big area of this kind allows us to be not precise with the cleaning, since they are intended to give a very worn effect.
The lower part of the hat, is perfectly modeled on the basis of the head, so as to joint each other without any problem.

Turning to face of Gurka,
The orc remind us the work of Paul Bonner, as a bit of all ogres and orcs by Carrasco, simian face, with very pronounced lower lip, large ears and big teeth sticking out.
The eyebrow tension gives him a frown catchy and so aggressive.
Other details, which are not noticed right away, but that characterize the orc are broad scar on the chin and the fishing hook on the lip like a piercing.
The head also has the interlocking already shaped on the neck, to facilitate even more the work of the modeller.

We find some mold lines, not very evident, but really important to clean, if not we could have a problem during painting operations.

And taking the bust..
When I saw the bust, I said to myself, "OH..COOOOL!!!The orc version of Captain Hook of Peter Pan!"
Also here, Details and Composition, starting from the neck scarf, belts and buckles, that give us the opportunity to paint the model with a myriad of solutions and colors.
In addition, the size of the folds of the scarf also allow us to dare with some freehand..painting a floral theme or a cute pirate theme. The choice is yours.

I did not find mold lines or problems due to casting on the bust.
The only job will be to clean the joint place for the head and mount the bracket or the pin for the plinth.

The last two small details are the brooch Maia or Aztec style tthat will be placed on the right lapel of the jacket and the pendant that will be placed under the ring on the left lapel.

And so I arm myself with BlueTac for dry mounting operation of the model.
As you can see it's really fast and simple.

I highly recommend this model and those who have already painted the Einstein bust by Figone, will understand immediately why.
Large surfaces on which to play with colors, shades, special effects and Free Hands.
Congratulations to the duo Leben / Carrasco for this work.

And I take this opportunity just to let you know that in the Leben shop a few weeks ago it's arrived the new work of Benoit, "Knightmare", another piece really interesting, and something is cooking on the table by Allan Carrasco, but I refer you to the blog for more information.

Stay Tuned

Cesare "Trevis_11" Trevisiol